Monday, April 27, 2015

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods!

Getting started with small farm equipment

Monday, April 27 at 6:00 pm CDT.

Many beginning farmers are not as knowledgeable about farm equipment as they would like to be. This webinar will help you will learn about matching equipment size to your necessary tasks. It is designed to provide beginning farmers with little to no experience with a good ‘primer’ on identifying, selecting and purchasing equipment suitable for your farming operation, including tractors, tillage equipment, planters and drills, spreading equipment (manure, fertilizer, lime, etc.), haymaking equipment and other harvest equipment. MSU Extension educator and farmer Fred Springborn will be using a combination of discussion and pre-recorded video to get you acquainted with a variety of equipment suitable for smaller farms. The presentation may include some information on hand tools and small, motorized, hand-operated equipment, but will focus on small tractors and tractor drawn equipment.

Wednesday, April 29 at 1:00 pm CDT. Join the National Association of Plant Breeding and PBG Works for a webinar on soybean breeding by Thomas Carter of the USDA ARS in Raleigh, North Carolina . The webinar takes place on Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 2PM Eastern Time (1PM Central, 12PM Mountain, 11AM Pacific Time). The webinar is free and advanced registration is required. Register now at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8350278805777042177

Resources for Organic Producers Selling Local Foods

April 29. Online. The USDA Organic Working Group will host a webinar highlighting USDA's resources for organic producers marketing local foods. Learn about organic certification, labeling, and online directories of local markets. Learn about more resources for local and regional food programs through the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative. Pre-registration is not required for these webinar sessions. To participate, dial in by phone: 866-740-1260 with access code 7206000. Also access the Web:http://www.readytalk.com. On the left side of the screen, enter Participant Access Code 7206000.

Planning in the Face of Change, an Urban Forestry Webinar Series: Emergency Planning

April 30th. Online. 11am. Damage to tree in urban areas can occur at any time, causing minor or catastrophic damage to other community assets or worse. Local emergency authorities, urban foresters, professional planners, community groups and arborists, all have a role to play in planning strategies to address damage before it strikes. http://www.forestrywebinars.net/webinars/emergency-planning

Targeted Grazing Online Workshops: Choosing and Developing the Animal for the Job

April 30. Online. Learn the principles of targeted grazing to manage landscape with online workshops from the Targeted Grazing Committee of the Society for Range Management. This session features Dr. Rachel Frost, Missouri River Conservation Districts Council. https://targetedgrazing.wordpress.com/training/

2015 All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series: Beneficial Garden Helpers

Friday, May 1 at 1:00 pm CDT. Learn about the helpful insects in your garden and landscape in this webinar presented by Dr. Kris Braman from the University of Georgia. Dr. Braman will explain how to encourage the predators and parasitoids in your backyard. Moderated by Mallory Kelley and Ellen Huckabay, Regional Extension Agents, Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Click here to login as a guest and participate in the live event. Note: on May 1, the link to the live webinar opens about 15 minutes before the webinar. If you try to log in earlier, you will get an error message. http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/fireant

Chickens in the City

May 2. One of the newest trends in urban sustainability is raising chickens. Chickens are legal in Omaha city limits with planning and a permit. Find out what you need to do to keep chickens in your backyard at this workshop. https://www.facebook.com/events/359650534237081/

Opportunities

Common Good Farm Annual Organic Plant Sale

mark your calendar for our 2015 annual spring plant sale! may 1, 2, 3, may 8, 9, 10 and onward throughout may & into june until we sell out...sale is daily after opening but we highlight the first three big weekends sales! 9 am - 6 pm each day. cash or checks please. EBT/SNAP also accepted. certified organic & Biodynamic plants...a wonderful selection of plants! https://www.facebook.com/events/314469905428804/

Farm Family Placement Opportunity

'We are a family of four (with two kids), we are looking for any possibility that can lead us to live in the country (no more than one hour and a half driving from the farm to the city of Lincoln). We are specially looking for a farm/ house with a piece of land that is organic oriented . Please do not hesitate to contact us for any queries (Cell phone; 402-4059195). rllasaca@gmail.com. Thanks. Troy Van Horn".

Close in farmland for rent. About 1 acre 200 yards outside city limits in SW Corner of Lincoln. Organically maintained for at least 30 years. Bearing aronia bushes on part of the land. I know the owner and the land, as does Justin G Jones, and I think Ingrid Kirst at CROPS knows it too. If interested, call Jeff at 402-429-9507. In my opinion, it would make a good "training plot" for a couple of young veg farmers. I tried to buy the property myself 15-16 years ago but I have no financial interest in the property or a possible rental; just doing an old friend a favor.

Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Survey

The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is working with the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI) to better understand experiences with crop insurance and with a new crop insurance product called Whole-Farm Revenue Protection. Whole-Farm Revenue Protection is a pilot crop insurance policy available for the 2015 crop insurance year. The policy provides crop insurance coverage based on a farm’s 5-year revenue history, and it enables a farm to insure more than one crop with one policy. The link to the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/rafiwfrpsurvey. Questions about this survey can be directed to James Robinson at 919-542-1396 ext. 209 or james@rafiusa.org.

Help Wanted

Small but diverse greenhouse and herb/vegetable growing operation in SW Lancaster County needs a p/t to f/t employee/intern/helper effective ASAP. Minimum availability: Now until Memorial Day. For the right person, this position could extend until October/November. Work in a 100° greenhouse required for first few weeks; then work shifts to the field. Must be able to lift 40 lbs. Must be able to get to a workplace 22 minutes from central Lincoln on time. Some flexibility on shifts, but limited to daylight hours. We are a Certified Natural Grower. If interested, please send a one-page resume and your contact information to gene@heartlandorganics.net. I will reply to everyone who applies via email. Thanks.

Mother Earth News Survey

Later this year, Mother Earth News will publish an article about the growing evidence of the vital importance of getting the right balance of fatty acids in our diet. Some researchers now believe that the shift away from beneficial fatty acids in modern diets is leading to health consequences that are as serious as the problems we face with climate change. As you probably know, grass-fed products are better sources of fatty acids than industrial products. We plan to help raise public awareness of this fact by conducting a large-scale survey to measure the fatty acid profiles of samples of grass-fed meat, eggs and dairy products from across the continent. We will publish the results of the survey in conjunction with our article. We are recruiting producers to join in this nutrient-testing project and hope that you will choose to participate. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K5ZHWTB?newsletter=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=HE%20eNews&utm_campaign=2.23.15%20MEN%20HE%20eNews

Upcoming

Landlord-Tenant Communication and Agricultural Mediation

Monday, May 4 at 6:00 pm. Agricultural land leasing is an important feature of Maryland agriculture. Issues often arise between landlords and tenants not understanding what the law is or how to communicate with each other. On April 28th and May 4th, agricultural landlords and tenants or those looking to get into agriculture will have the opportunity to participate in a webinar series focused in on leasing issues. You can register for the webinar at https://arecleasingwebinar.eventbrite.com. The webinar series is sponsored by the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Agriculture Law Education Initiative, University of Maryland Extension, Maryland Department of Agriculture, and Maryland FarmLink and funding is provided by USDA-NIFA and the Northeast Extension Risk Management Education Center. https://arecleasingwebinar.eventbrite.com

Getting prepared for pullets for a 4-H egg enterprise

Monday, May 4 at 6:00 pm. The purpose of the webinar is to equip youth with knowledge on how to prepare for started pullets for an egg enterprise. The webinar will discuss: The production cycle of a hen. Why started pullets? Preparing your coop, bedding, nest boxes, perches, feed & waterers (checklist). Preparing for and preventing possible problems: predators, disease & biosecurity. Keeping records of expenses/income. Keeping records of production. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry

Decoding Organic Feed and Supplement Requirements for Livestock

May 5. Online. This webinar will help participants understand the livestock feed requirements of the National Organic Standards in more detail. Join Oregon Tilth and presenters Jackie Sleeper and Jeff Mattocks for a breakdown of the livestock feed standards and how they apply to specific systems; an overview of feed supplements, including how they are classified and regulations for use; and guidelines for ensuring that your animals' nutritional needs are being met while remaining compliant with the standards. http://tilth.org/event/decoding-organic-requirements-for-livestock/

Pain Management on Organic Dairy Farms Webinar

May 5. Online. This event is part of an educational livestock health series offered by Veterinary Extension at The Ohio State University and OEFFA. During this webinar led by Dr. Ulrike Sorge DVM and Dr. Gustavo Schuenemann, you will learn how to recognize signs of pain in animals, the economic impact of pain on the well-being and production of animals, and about approaches to address pain in animals within the organic guidelines. The session is geared toward veterinarians, Extension educators, farmers, and others who work with certified organic livestock. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6637881805111636738

May 7-9. Clark, Missouri. Greg Judy and Ian Mitchell Innes team up for this school covering all the critically important steps in implementing high density planned grazing. There will be classroom sessions in the morning; pasture walks covering all aspects of mob grazing in the afternoons. http://www.greenpasturesfarm.net/events.php?eventID=9019

Women in Farming Risk Management Education Workshop

May 9. Linn, Kansas. The Kansas Rural Center's third "Women in Farming" Risk Management Education Workshop will focus on business, financial, and legal risk management during the morning session. In the afternoon a farm tour of Lucinda Stuenkel's farm near Palmer, Kansas, will focus on conservation practices including cover crops and no till, and cattle management for women. http://kansasruralcenter.org/category/risk_management/